City Hall

City of La Crosse, Wisconsin

400 La Crosse Street

La Crosse, WI 54601

Meeting Minutes

Climate Action Plan Steering Committee

Monday, January 12, 2026

4:00 PM

Eagle Room

This meeting will also be conducted through video conferencing.

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Call to Order

Mindel called the meeting to order at 4:00 PM.

Roll Call

6 -

Present:

Andrew Ericson, Casey Meehan, Dorothy Lenard, Lauren Fortin, Mackenzie

Mindel,Natalie Heneghan

Approval of Minutes

Ericson made a motion, seconded by Lenard, that the Minutes be APPROVED.

The motion carried by a voice vote.

Notices and Discussion

New committee member Fortin introduced herself. Heneghan shared that Wisconsin

Climate Action Navigators is holding a meeting in La Crosse on March 25-26

(https://osce.wi.gov/Pages/WICAN/WI-Climate-Action-Navigators.aspx). President

Dickenson brought up events for Transit Equality Day on February 4th and encouraged

members to watch the Board of Public Works' most recent meeting which included a

presentation on the Wastewater Treatment Plant.

Agenda Items:

Annual Code of Ethics Review

26-0021

Attachments:

Code of Ethics

Paper Certification Form

The Code of Ethics were agreed to by unanimous consent.

Zoning for Climate Action Update

26-0018

Attachments:

Presentation

Ericson recapped the discussion and approval on the contract at the December

meeting. Staff discussed operating budget funding shift from pursuing grants to

pursuing zoning code update. Leslie Brandt went over the presentation slides. Ericson

asked about a marsh overlay district; Friends of the Marsh has been working closely

with the City on zoning for its preservation. Transit-Oriented Development falls under

"options for multimodal development". Mindel suggested focusing TOD on complete

and compact centers. Heneghan asked about material reuse ordinances; Brandt may

be able to find some ordinances. Ericson is hoping for enclosed bike parking and

making stretch code required for City incentives. President Dickenson shared that the

zoning code consultants will be meeting with the Common Council and City Plan

Commission in March

Request for funds to temporarily remove solar array on Fire Station No. 3

during roof replacement - Chief Schott

26-0010

Attachments:

Cost Estimate

Chief Schott provided an overview of the project and would like to replace the roof

within 6 months to a year. Rather than going with the estimate from Solar

Connections, staff believes that a bid or request for proposals would yield a lower cost.

Ericson is concerned about the opportunity cost of missing out on other sustainability

projects. Staff explained that Direct Pay incentives earned from solar panel

installations in 2024, including on Fire Station, Nos. 2 and 4, could be used to finance

this project. Ericson asked about using utility savings to fund this project. This item

would come back if CAP implementation funds were requested.

Ericson made a motion, seconded by Meehan, to direct staff to work with the

Fire Department to get the best bid possible.

Presentation of La Crosse County's Sustainability Indicators Report - Dillon

Constant

26-0020

26-0027

Attachments:

Report

Constant went over presentation slides and report.

Discussion on 2026 Communications Plan

Attachments:

Plan

Staff went over presentation slides from Paul Nicholas.

Next Meeting / Agenda Items

Adjournment

Mindel adjourned the meeting at 5:11 PM.

Notice is further given that members of other governmental bodies may be present at the

above scheduled meeting to gather information about a subject over which they have

decision-making responsibility.